


abandonment issues

by anyastasia



Category: Legend of Zelda, Linked Universe - Fandom
Genre: Abandonment, Give this man a break, Legend angst, Other, PTSD, Trauma, soft sky
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:21:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22606912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anyastasia/pseuds/anyastasia
Summary: pranks backfire sometimes. but this prank goes places no one thought they could go.
Comments: 17
Kudos: 150





	abandonment issues

“It’ll be so much fun,” Twilight said, giving the haunted house a side-eye and a grin. “There’s a maze, I think. And it’s dark with only one way out-”

“Mazes!” Wild scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air. “Why is it always mazes?!”

Warriors snickered and elbowed Wild in the ribs. “What, you afraid there’s gonna be some big scary monster at the end?” he mocked playfully.

“Let’s just get the damn house over with so we can go home,” Legend complained. He twisted the paper wristband on his right wrist, keeping himself from tearing it off. The attendant at the entrance to the park had tied it on way too tight, and it had been cutting off his circulation all day. “At least it’s not a rollercoaster.”

“Legend’s afraid of rollercoasters!” Wind shouted in singsong as they walked up to the entrance of the attraction. Legend glared at the back of the other boy’s head. In his defense, he was dragged to his stupid amusement park - what was its name? Three Goddesses? Three Pearls? Three Springs? He couldn’t remember - against his will. Sky had begged and pleaded with Time to take them, even using his devastatingly effective puppy-dog eyes on the old man. Finally Time had complied and they had taken a day trip to the park.

Legend hated rollercoasters, he’d admit. The speed, the drops, the dime turns - he hated every aspect of them. He even hated the stupid kittycoasters Time made him ride with Four, since he wasn’t tall enough to ride the big rides. The stupid kitty-train was even too fast for Legend’s taste.

The only thing he would get on willingly was the carousel, but even then, he stuck to the unmoving benches on the outer ring of horses. Wild must have dozens of pictures of Legend looking pissed on the carousel.

Legend figured that a simple, walk-through attraction would be a good way to calm his already frazzled nerves before they went back to the ranch. So he gave the four required tickets to the attendant and walked after his friends. 

Time was whispering to Four as they entered, and the door slid shut behind them. They were left in total darkness - no, not total darkness. Legend let his eyes adjust to the dark and saw that there was very faint light coming from the floor, barely illuminating the glass walls that surrounded them. It wasn’t a mirror maze, thank Hylia - they had done one earlier, at another walk-through attraction, and Hyrule had gotten a bloody nose after spying the exit in the reflection of a mirror and slammed face-first into it. The walls here were clear, but you could only see so far - the light ended after a few yards. 

“Who wants to go down the shadowy mystery hallway first?” Twilight asked, grinning at them in the dim light. 

“Me!” Four squeaked, running forward. About two seconds in they heard the shudder of a body hitting plexiglass and Four’s groan. 

“Your nose better not be bleeding,” Time grumbled, shuffling down the hallway towards where Four was. Legend shoved his way to the front of the group and followed him, and was acutely aware of the soft thunk of something hitting the floor and the fact that Time’s footsteps had vanished. 

Legend stopped short. “Time?” He called. He stumbled as Warriors bumped into him from behind. 

“Move, dude,” Warriors said, shoving past Legend. He walked forward and, in the faint light that came from Warriors moving revealed Time’s ocarina on the floor. 

“Watch out!” Legend cried, shoving Warrior’s foot out of the way before he could step on the ocarina. He snatched up the little instrument and turned to his friends, holding it out for them to see.

Twilight shouldered his way to the front, took one look at the ocarina, and his expression confirmed what Legend had thought: Time was in trouble. He would never drop the ocarina; it was too precious.

“Time?” Twilight called. The light from the entrance was slowly fading. Wild pulled out his Sheikah Slate to give them a bit of light.

The group stumbled forward blindly, calling out for Time and hitting walls often. They had gotten themselves hopelessly lost when Legend stopped abruptly, causing Wind to bump into him.

“ _ Where’s Four? _ ” He asked, emphasizing every syllable. 

In the dim light of the Sheikah Slate, Legend saw Twilight’s expression grow even more grim. The older boy swung around to face the darkness. “Four, come out,” he demanded. “This isn’t funny.”

There was a brief moment of silence - just the rustle of clothing and Legend’s brisk breathing - before footsteps padded in front of them and Four’s hazy outline appeared.

“Where did you guys go?” He asked. Legend could barely see him in the darkness of the maze.

“Where did  _ you  _ go?” Warriors asked, shouldering himself to the front and past Legend. “You were right in front of us when Time disappeared. You hit that glass wall, and then you ran off.”

“Time disappeared?” Four said, but the voice no longer came from in front of them. The group whirled around and Legend could just barely make out the dark outline of Four standing behind Sky, who was bringing up the rear.

“What the hell…” Wild muttered under his breath. Hyrule shouldered his backpack uneasily. “He went after you after you ran into that wall,” Hyrule said. “Then he was gone.”

Legend heard Twilight grunt, as if he had hit something, and Legend looked over his shoulder. He whirled all the way around once he saw that Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

“Twilight’s gone, too!” He cried. The group became uneasy, mumbling and huddling closer together. 

“He dropped something, just like Time did,” Warriors said, stooping down. Legend saw the Twilight Charm, too, and grabbed Warrior’s hand before he could touch it. 

“Don’t touch the charm,” Legend said, giving Warriors a hard stare. “Trust me.”

Warriors raised an eyebrow as Legend carefully picked it up and looped it around his neck. “I’ll hold onto it until we find him,” Legend concluded.

“Four’s gone again,” Sky said softly. It was the first time he had spoken. Legend could tell the disappearances of their friends were unnerving him. All that was left was Four’s green headband, which Legend picked up and tied firmly around his wrist. 

“Yeah,” Legend replied, tugging Wild to the front so he could light their way. They got turned around several times, hitting dead ends or walking in circles, and they had to double back more times than Legend could count. Legend was about to give up and have Wild call 911 to come rescue them when Legend heard a soft squeak from behind him, and just like that, Sky was gone. A large red feather was left where he once stood, and Legend lunged out to seize it before it fell to the ground. 

“Where are they going?” He asked, turning around to look at his companions. Wild, Wind, Hyrule and Warriors looked as confused and on edge has Legend. Legend hugged his slow-growing collection of knickknacks closer to his chest.

“Let’s keep going,” Wild said, fidgeting with his Slate. Legend trailed after them, and caught himself fiddling with his rings, turning them over and over. He never fidgeted - he could be still as a statue if he wanted to. He shrugged it off as him just getting claustrophobic. 

Every now and then Legend heard a suspicious noise behind him, but was terrified to look over his shoulder and investigate. He knew that if he did, when he turned back around, Wind, Wild, Hyrule, or Warriors would have vanished.

The fact that his friends only vanished when  _ he  _ looked away terrified him. He felt like  _ he  _ was causing them to disappear. He kept one hand on the plexiglass wall at all times, searching for any kind of door or entrance to somewhere where his friends were. But there was nothing but smooth glass and scratches from previous visitors bumping into it. 

“What’s that?” Wild asked after a long time of silence, and Legend glanced up. A flicker of flame - like a lit match, perhaps - hovered in front of them a few yards. The light illuminated the hand underneath it, and Legend felt like he recognized it. Time? Twilight? They had the same hands; he couldn’t tell which one it was. 

“Hey!” Wind, shouted. He burst forward, into the darkness in between them and the flame. 

“No—WIND-“ Legend shouted, lunging forward, but it was too late. Wind’s footsteps had gone quiet, and the flame sputtered out and died. 

Legend dropped to his knees and felt around on the ground for any item Wind might have dropped. Eventually his fingers closed around something smooth and cool - his telescope. Legend clutched it tightly, hanging his head. 

“What is it? His telescope?” Warriors asked softly, and Legend sensed him at his shoulder. Legend opened his mouth to say yes, but then he whipped around to stare up at Warriors.

“Are you keeping an eye on-“ Legend began, but the clatter of two items hitting the floor caught both Link’s attention. They whipped around to see the Sheikah Slate and Hyrule’s boomerang lying innocently on the floor, waiting to be picked up. 

“No-No!” Legend gasped, crawling over and shoveling the two new items into his pile. He felt his nose get itchy and his eyes grow tickly - was he about to  _ cry _ ? - as he staggered to his feet. 

“What in Nayru’s name…” Warriors muttered. He was running his scarf between his fingers. Warriors glanced over at Legend’s ever-growing pile of mementos and reached out. “Here, let me carry something for you-“

“NO!” Legend shouted, stumbling away from Warriors. He clutched his baubles closer to his chest, wide-eyed and panting like a corner animal. “I mean—no thanks,” he corrected himself softly. 

Warriors recoiled, going back to fidgeting with his scarf. “Let’s leave,” He said. “This is getting out of hand.”

Legend glared at him from underneath his brow. “We’re not leaving until we find them.” He growled. 

Warriors’ brow furrowed. “Legend, we can-“ he began, but a hand reached out from the darkness and wrapped around his neck, and yanked him back into the shadows without a sound. 

“NO!” Legend screamed, lunging after him, but he just hit a wall and collapsed onto the ground. His nose stung and he felt it flood with fluid - blood. He groped around on the ground for Sky’s feather and Time’s ocarina, which had tumbled out of his arms as he fell. His fingers landed on worn-soft fabric and he lifted Warriors’ scarf into the dim light of the Sheikah Slate. 

Legend hadn’t cried in years. In fact, he really couldn’t remember the last time he cried. Was it when he was a child? Maybe later than that, when something happened to Fable? Legend had strictly told himself not to cry, as he had a bet with Wild to see which one would cry first on their journey. Legend didn’t care about the bet at this point, as Wild was probably dying some terrible, torturous death, and it meant nothing. So Legend lifted himself slowly to his feet and staggered forward a few steps, feeling the uncomfortable burning sensation in his eyes as hot tears dripped down onto his cheeks. 

He dragged his feet as he stumbled through the labyrinth, weakly calling out his friend’s names. When he thought he had lost all hope, he hesitantly untangled Time’s ocarina from the mess of knickknacks he carried and lifted it to his lips with trembling fingers. 

It had been ages since he had played the Ballad of the Goddess, but as soon as he played the first note, he remembered all of it. It put him at ease, if not a bit, for a few minutes. His steps became more sure and he felt strength return to his body, and he hefted his treasures in his arms. He paused once to sort through them - he wrapped Warrior’s scarf around his neck and shoulders, and tucked the red loftwing feather behind his ear. He didn’t trust himself to tie the Sheikah Slate to his belt - he didn’t want to drop it - so it remained in his arms along with the boomerang, the telescope, and the ocarina, which Legend held to his mouth still. 

Only three repeats of the Ballad were enough to satisfy Legend’s nerves. He played a wrong note after a while and, frustration boiling up inside him, he shouted in anger and chucked the ocarina at the wall. It didn’t break, thank Hylia, and clattered to the floor. Legend begrudgingly picked it up and added it to his stash. 

He wakes deeper into the maze, and with every step he took, his hopes of finding his friends plummeted. He checked the time on the Slate, and to his horror, realized he had been in the maze for  _ two whole hours.  _

_ And no one’s come to find me yet? No one has gotten worried about me? _

Legend slid down to his knees, a dead look overtaking his face. 

_ No one’s come to find you because you’re worthless,  _ the voice in his head sneered.  _ Your friends have been taken, and what are you doing? Sitting here, wallowing in your own self pity? _

“No,” Legend blurted. He gasped in a shuddering breath as he wiped snot from his nose with his sleeve. 

_ No one will ever find you,  _ his brain kept taunting.  _ What if your friends left you on purpose? You saw Time whispering to Four when you walked in. This is all a setup, just for them to abandon you.  _

“ _ No _ ,” Legend wheezed, doubling over as sobs racked his body. “They wouldn’t  _ do that.  _ They’re my  _ friends _ .”

_ How can you be so sure?  _

With a shrieking sob, Legend fell backwards into the fetal position, curling around his friend’s mementos. He let himself cry as loud as he wanted, screaming for someone to come help him. He just wanted to leave. He wanted to go back to Marin, to his  _ real  _ friends, who wouldn’t abandon him like this. But they had disappeared too, hadn’t they?

_ Everyone I get close to disappears,  _ Legend thought.  _ I’m just a bad luck charm.  _

These words and ones similar swam in his head, blocking out all of his other senses. He stared ahead with a dead look, not blinking once. He was ready to succumb to the darkness, let whatever had been taking his friends take him, too. He was hyperventilating, unable to breathe. His chest was screaming. Ringing filled his ears, blocking out the outside world. The tunnel vision closed in around him. 

Legend was so lost in his thoughts of pulling a sword out from the Slate just to end it all that he didn’t see the pair of feet running towards him. He didn’t feel the hands shaking his shoulder. He didn’t hear the voice of Warriors, screaming at him to get up. That he was okay. That it had just been a prank, it has just been a prank. That he was sorry. 

Warriors pushed Legend’s shoulder so he was lying on his back, staring straight up at the other blonde. “ _ Legend,”  _ Warriors wheezed. He was crying, he realized. Burning tears were darkening Legend’s tunic. Warriors grabbed the front of his tunic and shook him forcefully, careful not to make contact with the Twilight Crystal. “Legend, please talk to me,”

Sky was at his side. Warriors didn’t know when he had gotten there, but Sky pushed Warriors out of the way - Warriors was surprised at his strength - and took over. 

Sky grabbed Legend’s hand. “He’s has a panic attack,” he said. Warriors saw the rapid rise and fall of Legend’s chest. His eyes had begun to dart about, roused by the sound of voices and physical contact.

“We need to calm him down before he fully comes to,” Sky said. He sounded panicked. 

Time shoved past Warriors, who was still sprawled out on the ground. “What happened?” He asked. He sounded almost as panicked as Sky. 

Sky didn’t answer. He was too busy leaning over Legend, brushing the hair out of his face and clutching his hand. “It’s okay, honeybun,” he whispered soothingly, stroking his finger down the bridge of Legend’s nose rhythmically, over and over again. “You’re okay. You’re safe. We’re here, honey.”

“We freaked him out,” Warriors explained as everyone else came forward. “I should have stopped it when he started freaking out. I should have seen the PTSD, I should have-“

“There was no way you could have known this was going to happen,” Twilight interjected. He was fidgeting with the clasp of his fur wrap, as if put off by the absence of the Twilight Charm. 

“But I should have realized…” Warriors began, and then trailed off as Legend coughed. Every eye was on the boy lying on the ground as his eyelids fluttered, and a few stray tears slid out. 

“Hey,” Sky said gently. “Hey, sweetheart. How do you feel?”

Legend blinked up at Sky, silent for a long time. Then his eyes flew wide and he struck Sky across the cheek - blemishing the other boy’s smooth, pale skin - and scrambled to his feet, clutching his baubles and backing up. 

“Get away,” he sputtered. “ _ Get away from me. _ ”

Sky rose to his feet and rubbed his cheek. “Legend, it’s us,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re not real.” Legend said. His eyes were flicking around like a corner animal, and he was hunched over the items in his arms. “You’re not  _ real. _ ”

“Oh, no,” Sky whispered softly. “Legend, baby, come here.” He spread his arms wide and beckoned for Legend to come to him. “Legend, we’re real. It’s okay.”

“That’s what Marin says,” Legend whispered hoarsely. “That’s what she says in my dreams.”

“Legend, please, we want to help you-“ Warriors said, taking a step forward. The sudden movement was the last straw for Legend. Legend shrieked and backpedaled backwards, screaming intelligible words as he fumbled to hold onto his mementos. He grabbed and grappled with the objects as they tried to spill over his arms. His hands brushed across the Sheikah Slate, and it chimes in confirmation as a glowing blue ball appeared in front of Legend. Legend didn’t seem to be aware of the bomb he had just summoned. He was still fumbling with the Slate and the other objects. 

“LEGEND, MOVE!” Wild shouted, louder than anyone had ever heard him. Wild shoved Twilight out of the way and fell onto the bomb, curling his body around it. Legend swiped the Slate again in his struggle, and room filled with light and a deafening  _ BOOM  _ as the bomb detonated and Legend was blown backwards. 

Legend’s head hit the plexiglass wall and he slid down, stars dancing in front of his eyes. He slowly opened his eyes. He saw the other Links sprawled on the ground away from him, groaning and staggering to their feet. None of them were seriously hurt. 

Wild last unmoving on the ground between Legend and the others. His limbs looked mangled and they stuck out in awkward directions. Legend stared at Wild’s face. Old scars had been blown open and blood smeared his face like paint. Part of his lip had been seared away, and he saw the white glint of teeth in the dark. 

“Wild…?” He whispered. He pushed himself upright, holding the telescope and ocarina with one hand. His other knickknacks were scattered around him, blown away in the explosion. 

Everyone stared at Wild for a long, agonizing moment, the silence deafening. But after a few moments, a soft green light enveloped him and his face stitched back together. His limbs snapped back in place and his skin smoothed back over. A few more moments more, and Wild coughed and sat up, perfectly healed. 

“Wild,” Legend whispered, his voice cracking. Wild looked at him and then scrambled over, but Sky grabbed his shoulder and lightly pulled him back, shaking his head slightly. 

“Legend,” Sky said softly, inching forward and picking up his hand. “Are you feeling okay?”

Legend looked over Sky’s shoulder, at all the other Links. They all looked so concerned, their eyes filled with compassion and sympathy. Legend thought back to his thoughts as he had spiraled into a panic attack; that no one would ever be there for him. Inside, he wasn’t okay. He had never been truly  _ okay,  _ not since he had Marin and the life before this. But his hand in Sky’s - it was a lifeline. Maybe, just maybe, if he grabbed onto that lifeline tighter, he could finally be  _ okay.  _

He took a deep breath and convulsed into sobs, dropping his baubles and falling into Sky’s waiting arms. 

**Author's Note:**

> this started as a happy go lucky theme park au on the LU discord and it somehow turned into destroying Legend with everything we could think of. but this is my first linked universe fic and I hope it’s satisfactory!!


End file.
